Video: Clumsy waiter soaks German Chancellor Angela Merkel in beer

It has been a tough year already for Angela Merkel, what with Greek austerity measures and coalition headaches at home - but nothing could have prepared her for a clumsy waiter tipping beer down her neck.

Sitting down with colleagues at the Christian Democratic Union’s Ash Wednesday meeting in Demmin, the chancellor was soaked by a waiter carrying five glasses of beer on a tray as he leant down to serve guests.

After the initial shock the chancellor reacted with exceptional restraint as she quickly brushed her jacket while continuing to smile for cameras. But the reaction of a woman standing behind Angela Merkel is priceless as she raises her hands to her face in horror.

The waiter, only known as Martin, told Bild newspaper: "A colleague should have brought her the beer. But she was so nervous, she asked me to do it for her”.

"I was shoved from behind, and tried to catch the beers, but it was too late," he said.